A few Bald Eagles

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    We went for a walk today with company we have from the north at the Florida Botanical Gardens.  I looked over and saw an Osprey unsuccessfully fishing at one of their ponds.  He dived several time into the water, but came up empty clawed each time, but it was an awsum sight, with no camera.

Ed
 
I spent the night last night in an RV repair shop and after I checked in I noticed an active Osprey nest on top of a transmission tower across the street. Too high up and too far away to even think about trying to photograph it, but it was cool to see one.

When I was at Disney World the other day I was walking back to my bus and saw two Red tailed hawks circling in the sky. They were mirroring so it was a mating dance. I had the wrong camera with me.
 
    Tom, I don't know what's worse, having the wrong camera, or going somewhere on the spur of the moment, so no camera.

Ed
 
Hfx_Cdn said:
    Tom, I don't know what's worse, having the wrong camera, or going somewhere on the spur of the moment, so no camera.
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Neither one bothers me at all. There are many times I do have a camera with me and it is the right one and I still can't get the shot. But I have the memory of the encounter and that is more important to me than the photograph. For example, the two Red tails. They were circling overhead high up in the sky. Even with the right camera shots like that rarely turn out well. I would guess that on a typical day out shooting I will see 100 shots that I would like to have gotten but could not get because of the position of the sun, the animal running away, people getting in the way, lousy backgrounds, etc.

A lot of people assume I do a lot of hiking so I can take lots of photographs. Wrong. I use photography as an excuse to get outside and go hiking. If I don't get a shot all day I still have the experience of communing with nature and the physical exercise. With a camera I would not do 10% of the hiking I do. It is a great motivator for me that I might get a great shot also, but not a requirement for a good time.
 
SeilerBird said:
A lot of people assume I do a lot of hiking so I can take lots of photographs. Wrong. I use photography as an excuse to get outside and go hiking. If I don't get a shot all day I still have the experience of communing with nature and the physical exercise. With a camera I would not do 10% of the hiking I do. It is a great motivator for me that I might get a great shot also, but not a requirement for a good time.
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Guilty, as charged!  I was thinking you are a walker!  I learned something today.

Your attitude is a great "excuse".  Don't change a thing.  Nature is a great source of solitude to me also.  That is why I parked my TT out in the woods, next to a river, out in the middle of nowhere.

Staff edit: Fix broken quote tag
 
Tom, Just up the road from you in Deland, FL is a nice park, http://www.hpfishcamp.com/  They are $350 for a month, and you can rent a boat to go out in the St Johns river.  On the way out of the marina we saw a Bald Eagle.  Once in the river there's a good chance you'll see more.
 
Hey Tom,
I was just wondering something.  I was just finishing up on another thread and mentioned Barred Owls in my neighborhood.  It got me to thinking...

Have you ever taken pics of ugly birds?  I mean really ugly birds!  Ones that are awesome to see soaring hundreds of feet straight up against a clear blue sky without flapping their wings?  Just gliding around with no effort to wherever  the updrafts take them?  You watch one spiral its way down to the ground within walking distance.  You sneak up on it with hopes of a beautiful shot of such a magnificant bird.  Only to find a bird chewing away on a carcass and a face that would make a freight train take a dirt road!  :eek:

We also have a bunch of Turkey Vultures around.  I hadda ask.
 
Larry N. said:
You haven't seen Tom's Condor shots, Marc?  :)
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OMG!  I stand corrected!  I totally missed the Condor pics.
My Turkey Vultures stand a close second place in the "Ugly" catagory.  BUT... 

I hope Tom didn't lose sleep after seeing those ugly SOB's through a view finder!  :D
 
But maybe the Turkey Vulture thought you were not very good looking ;D ;D ;D
 

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Point well taken, Tom.  And you might be correct!  I work nights and have nobody to impress.  Sometimes I don't even shave for a day or two. With my long hair and a 3 day old beard, I'm kinda scary looking!
Doesn't scare a Turkey Buzzard away!

I apologize for my assumption concerning your library of pics.  A verbal spanking is in order.  I just wondered if the ugly ones were in your files?  I was proven that the ugly ones are indeed included!  Bravo!

I bow down....
I see eagles, hawks, bats, woodpeckers, vultures, as well as the same ol' birds anyone would see in their front yard in my situation.  Although the owls are a bit different to watch at night, you can estimate the rest.  Regardless, I was just thinking of someone as you with the desire to get that one pic that kicks butt! 

I see them all the time during the season.  I guess maybe "my season" doesn't equate to others veiwing them during the same time.
 
Mark - You have absolutely no reason to apologize to me. I appreciate all your comments. I know you find this hard to believe but I think the California Condor is the most beautiful bird in the world. Some people say they have a face only a mother could love so therefore I feel like I am a mother to all 400 Condors. I think TVs are beautiful also.

There are some photographers who only take photos or really beautiful things but I am not one of them. It is super easy to walk up to the Grand Canyon and take a fabulous photos. That is why you don't see too many shots like that in my collection. I want something that is much harder. Taking something that is ugly and making a great photo is the mark of a great photographer.

Just yesterday I photographed a brick wall. A plain ordinary red brick wall. Nothing special about it but the challenge was to get a great photo of something ordinary. I showed the photo off last night and I impressed several people with it. However some people will look at it and want to upchuck. Maybe I like the shot because Breakout is my all time favorite computer game.

Not all photography is beautiful women and gorgeous vistas.
 

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SeilerBird said:
Not all photography is beautiful women and gorgeous vistas.
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I applaud your reasoning.  And I agree.  I have nowhere near the expertise as you.  Or the equipment.  But I do appreciate a good photo.  I just think some things are so ugly, it's funny.  For instance, there are a couple of your Condor photos that remind me of my first wife!  At least that is what I rermember thinking as I walked out of the courthouse at the time.  It's been 33 years.  But I swear there is a resemblance.  ;D

Your pic of the brick wall reminds me of my sister.  As in trying to talk to her sometimes.

I like to laugh and try to find the humor in everyday life.  That's just me.  The unordinary, unexpected, off the wall type pics/videos draws my attention more than the mundane.

You do great work.  And you enjoy it.  Have fun with it while you can.



 
Eagle Cam.

Osprey Cam.

The two juvenile eagles are a couple of months old now and are nearly as big as their parents.

The ospreys are sitting on three eggs.  The first-laid egg is about a week away from hatching.  The others should follow in a few days.
 
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